Reprogramming microbial populations using a programmed lysis system to improve chemical production.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34824227.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-27226-3 and PMC identifier 8617184.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Microbial populations are a promising model for achieving microbial cooperation to produce valuable chemicals. However, regulating the phenotypic structure of microbial populations remains challenging. In this study, a programmed lysis system (PLS) is developed to reprogram microbial cooperation to enhance chemical production. First, a colicin M -based lysis unit is constructed to lyse Escherichia coli. Then, a programmed switch, based on proteases, is designed to regulate the effective lysis unit time. Next, a PLS is constructed for chemical production by combining the lysis unit with a programmed switch. As a result, poly (lactate-co-3-hydroxybutyrate) production is switched from PLH synthesis to PLH release, and the content of free PLH is increased by 283%. Furthermore, butyrate production with E. coli consortia is switched from E. coli BUT003 to E. coli BUT004, thereby increasing butyrate production to 41.61 g/L. These results indicate the applicability of engineered microbial populations for improving the metabolic division of labor to increase the efficiency of microbial cell factories.
Medical subject headings
- Bacteriolysis
- Metabolic Engineering
- Microbial Consortia